


When The Truth Comes Out (Will You Still Love Me)

by De_Marvel_Bunny



Series: Tony Stark & Co. [10]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Howard Stark's Bad Parenting, Hurt Tony Stark, Other, Peter Parker is a Good Bro, Tony Angst, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Angst, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs Sleep, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark-centric, Whumptober 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-12-07 12:39:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20976032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/De_Marvel_Bunny/pseuds/De_Marvel_Bunny
Summary: On a small mission Tony ends up drugged. With no one but Peter there to look after him, truths that have previously been hidden might be spilled.No. Slash.





	When The Truth Comes Out (Will You Still Love Me)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kcusllay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kcusllay/gifts), [The_Sad_Fangirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Sad_Fangirl/gifts).

> First of all, this is NOT Starker, thank you.
> 
> Second of all, enjoy.

In theory, it was an easy mission.

Expectation:

Blend in, have small talk and slowly make your way over to the perpetrator to get the information needed before making it out without a scratch.

Reality:

Peter insisted he'd come to help on this 'super secret mission', almost got himself drugged before Tony decided to intervene, taking the drink from him. In an attempt not to blow their cover, he drank the drugged water. And that's how Peter and Tony found themselves in a back alley, their suits wrinkled and dirty as they waited for Happy to pick them up.

"I'm sorry," Peter whispered. "I shouldn't have come, I was probably only in the way. And even though my body probably could have handled the drug perfectly well, you're the one who's drugged, the mission failed and... and you're not listening to me, are you?"

Tony was staring off at the nearby road, watching the occasional car drive past with big, glassy eyes. Peter sighed.

"Mr. Stark?" He asked carefully, reaching out to touch Tony's shoulder. Tony flinched away at the contact, his wide, panicked eyes finding Peter. He relaxed, a big, loopy grin spreading over his face.

"'ey, Und'roos," he slurred. Peter swallowed dryly. He was slightly afraid, if he were being honest. He didn't know what to do in a situation like this- he was flying blind. But Tony had never looked so open, so defenseless. Maybe that's what scared him most.

"Hey, Mr. Stark," he whispered. Tony shook his head, his slightly curling hair bouncing with the exaggerated movement.

"'s Tony," he said, trying to fix his protégé with a stern look and failing miserably due to the drugs still in his system. "Mr. Stark w's my father," he said, looking away. "Don't like him. Asshole."

"Was he... was he really that bad?" Peter asked carefully. He regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth, afraid of the answer he would get. Tony scoffed.

"Worse. Funny how people call _me _a dick. He w's ev'n _worse_ than me." Peter was about to assure him he was _not_ a dick, but Tony continued. "He w's aaalways sayin' _I_ did it wrong. _I'm_ the disappointment. I mean, I _am_, but that's not- that's not the point- look. I don't know how parents work, m'kay? I jus' know they shouldn't- shouldn't _hit_ me f'r not underst'nding. I was _four_!" 

Peter stayed silent, not knowing what to say. He dug his nails into his palms, wishing he was anywhere but here. He didn't want to know this, _Tony_ didn't want him to know this. He felt like he was invading his mentor's privacy, taking advantage of him in his vulnerable state. That, and he worried he would actually hurt someone if Tony continued.

"'n, like, he never _stopped_, y'know?" Tony said softly, fiddling absently with his hands. "'n my mom, well... I loved her. But she never stopped him. She never- she never loved me back." His voice cracked at the end, and he sniffled pathetically, wiping at his nose. "I mean, she used to. But then... then c'me the pills, and the alcohol, and she n'ver sang 'nymore. 'n they fought, 'n they pushed me around and- and that's not normal, right? I- I mean, Howard yelled, 'n mom just... just ingored... _ignored_ me, 'n they were, they were never _there_..." he trailed off, his voice soft as he gazed off in the distance, eyes unseeing. Peter bit his lip, feeling like he could actually just break down right there. 

"Why would- why would you hit a _kid_? I mean, I-I like kids. Little kids. Not teen'gers. They're weird. 'cept you, 'f course. But you're a nerd. 'n weird. But in a_ good_ way. I like you."

"I like you too, Mr. Stark," Peter responded softly. Then he realized what he'd said. "But like, not in _that_ way. That'd be gross. I mean, I like a girl, so- wait. Wait, no, no, I don't like a girl, I don't like anyone like that." He chuckled awkwardly. "What I mean to say, sir, is that- um, I really like you as a person, and I think you're really great and you're, like, my hero and stuff-"

Tony hummed. Peter fell silent, looking over at his mentor with a beet red face, expecting the man to make fun of his little crush on MJ. Instead, he found the man with his head leaned back against the wall, softly humming a gentle tune while he gazed up at the starry sky. Peter breathed out softly, mimicking the billionaire's position and leaning his head against the wall.

"'s pretty, isn't it?" Tony spoke up after a while. "The stars. I think they're pretty. Not so pretty when you're up th're with 'em, though." He pulled a disgusted face. "But fr'm here, they're pretty..."

"My uncle told me my parents were among those stars, looking over me," Peter said softly, a small smile on his face. Tony huffed.

"'s bullshit. Y'r uncle lied. 's gas," he deadpanned. Peter huffed a laugh.

"Yeah, I suppose so. Still, it's comforting."

They lapsed back into a comfortable silence before Tony spoke up again, his voice soft and vulnerable.

"'d they love you?" He whispered. Peter turned to look at him.

"Who?"

"Y'r parents. 'd they love you?"

"Yeah," Peter answered with a smile. "It's the last thing they told me before they- well, died."

"Y'r lucky," Tony muttered, soft enough that Peter couldn't have caught it without super-hearing.

"Lucky?" he repeated, slightly defensive. "Lucky? My parents _died_, Mr. Stark, I don't think I'm _lucky_-"

"They loved you," Tony snapped back, sounding suddenly a lot more lucid. "You had multiple people in your life who _loved _you, who _told_ you that. My parents hated my guts and weren't afraid to show it!"

Peter reeled back, shame rising in him for snapping. Tony slumped back down, suddenly looking exhausted.

"I jus', I jus' wanted... to be _loved_. W's that, w's that too much t' ask for?"

He gave Peter such an open, vulnerable look it almost took Peter's breath away. Because here was the strongest man, by _far_, that Peter knew, and he just confessed to having felt unloved all his life, just wanting someone to love him for _him_. Peter thought back to the most recent months. It couldn't have been easy, having his friends, his _family_ walk out on him like that, _betray_ him like that.

"I'll stay with you," he said softly. Tony turned his head lazily to look at him. "I'll love you, Mr. Stark. Me, Happy, May, Mr. Rhodey... We won't leave."

"That's what Jarvis said," Tony sighed softly. "And Ana. And Aunt Peggy. They left me."

"But I won't, Mr. Stark. I _swear_." Tony looked him in the eyes, looking for insincerity and finding none. It was only because of how the drug in his system was affecting him that his eyes welled up with tears. Hesitantly, Peter scooted closer to him, making sure not to invade the man's space too much but close enough to touch, to ground his mentor and let him know _'I'm here for you'_.

After a while, Peter felt Tony lean against him, his head lolling on Peter's shoulder, and he thought back to the many, _many_ times the situation had been reversed, and he'd be the one with his head on Tony's shoulder. He thought back to the many times Tony had supported him through his issues, big and small, never once complaining about any of it. He decided it wouldn't hurt to return the favor.

So he reached out, gently holding Tony's scarred and calloused hand in his own.

"Th'nks, Peter," Tony mumbled sleepily. Peter smiled, watching Happy's car roll into view, the man in question stepping out and rushing towards them.

"Anytime, Mr. Stark," he promised. "Anytime."

**Author's Note:**

> So... tell me what you thought in the comments :)


End file.
